George Allen wins GOP Senate nod

Former Sen. George Allen, who a year ago was thought by some to be vulnerable to a tea party challenge, coasted to a primary victory Tuesday, setting up a marquee clash with Democrat Tim Kaine this fall for his old Senate seat.

The 60-year-old son of the famed Washington Redskins coach easily disposed of three GOP rivals who tried to tar him as an establishment figure responsible for frivolous spending during his earlier tenure in the upper chamber.

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Allen had captured 65 percent of the vote with more than three-quarters of precincts reporting. Former Richmond Tea Party President Jamie Radtke was in second place; Delegate Bob Marshall and Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson both were registering single digits.

While Radtke took the most aggressive posture against Allen — airing a late batch of radio and television ads as well as robocalls — the front-running former governor never batted an eye. He emerged from three low-profile debates unscathed and all but ignored his GOP opponents on the stump, instead training his focus on Kaine and President Barack Obama.

The Allen-Kaine face-off for the seat held by retiring Democrat Jim Webb has consistently polled as one of the most competitive Senate contests in the country. The last three public surveys of the race have given the former Democratic National Committee chairman a minuscule advantage. The RealClearPolitics polling average calculates a half-point lead for Kaine. But observers on both sides know that the trajectory of the presidential race in this battleground state will figure heavily in the outcome.

Voters in several other states also went to the polls for primaries Tuesday. In Maine, former Gov. Angus King’s decision to enter the open-seat race as an independent after the surprise retirement of Sen. Olympia Snowe took some of the air out of the parties’ nomination process in the Pine Tree State.

King awaited his opponents Tuesday night as the undisputed favorite.

State Sen. Cynthia Dill claimed the Democratic nomination, holding an 8-point lead over former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap with about three-quarters of precincts reporting.

Just before midnight Eastern time, the Republican race was called for Secretary of State Charlie Summers. He held a 7-point lead over state Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, 29 percent to 23 percent with more than 75 percent of precincts reporting.